LETTER | The movement control order has impacted our economy, business and social lifestyles plus almost all Malaysians have ended up engulfing themselves in the behaviour of panic-buying which potentially creates a lot of wastage. This is especially true in the cases of people who don’t often cook and end up stocking up their supplies in unnecessary amounts.

On the other hand during the MCO, water and energy bills are expected to rise as more people spend time indoors in their respective homes. Usage of bathrooms is much more frequent and people even tend to take longer showers as they are not in a hurry. 

Furthermore, usage of air-conditioners, dryers, washing machines and television sets will also increase substantially given that people are spending more time at home.

Thus, the Federation of Malaysian Consumers Associations (Fomca) and Water and Energy Consumers Association of Malaysia (Wecam) would like to enlighten consumers with few valuable tips and tricks to save your utility bills from increasing drastically.

For instance, you may want to keep track of how long you are spending in the shower as a regular shower should only take around 5-6 minutes. We should also not let the tap water run wastefully when we are brushing our teeth or in any other instances. If possible, install water-savvy faucets that are able to generate higher pressure with less water.

Next in line would be saving on our electricity bills as this is bound to see an increase during the MCO. Pulling out the plug is a fairly simple solution that can save electricity bills up to 15 percent compared to leaving the plugs in switched on mode. 

Please refrain from using the washing machine for small batches of clothes; instead accumulate clothes together so that the washing machine can be used at optimum load. Lastly, please set the air-cond temperature to 24 degrees Celsius as this is the optimum temperature whereby the room is cold and at the same time it’s cost-effective. 

Do you know that some water filters especially those with heating and cooling functions use a lot of electricity in your house? Consumers should consider boiling water and keeping it in flasks rather than leaving the water filter running constantly.

Certain utility companies such as for water and energy have also announced that they will not be able to send meter readers out during MCO for safety reasons. Even though you may not be provided with printed bills, consumers can still check their bills through the respective utilities providers’ online portals and apps via smartphones (please check with your local providers on the availability of online payments). 

Please don’t let your bills be unpaid because you may find it hard to pay if you receive the previous bills altogether at once.

Once again we would like to remind consumers to remain calm and stay indoors during the MCO so that the spread of the disease can be contained leading to the eradication of Covid-19 entirely.

The writer is Fomaca chief operating officer and Wecam president.

The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of Malaysiakini.